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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 301

Oct 23, 2021

This Off-Grid Water Desalination Plant Does Not Use Up Any Electricity

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

Scientists are coming up with practical and cheaper desalination processes for water. It has been going on since half a century ago in Spain. Currently, Ikaria, a Greek island, got access to clean water by virtue of desalination.

The common method used in the process is called reverse osmosis (RO) but it has to be connected to the electricity grid. This is expensive and inaccessible for areas far from the grid. So, researchers have come up with sustainable off-grid desalination systems that run on renewable energy.

Now, microbial desalination cells (MDCs) are being suggested to use. This is developed by MIDES. It produces drinkable water from the sea. It means electro-active bacteria desalinate and sterilize water making it suitable and safe. “This technology offers new options to provide clean water and wastewater treatment to small, isolated locations without electricity,” said Frank Rogalla, director of innovation and technology at Aqualia and a member of the project team.

Oct 23, 2021

A New Jet Fuel Made From ‘Electrified CO2’ Is Emissions-Free

Posted by in category: sustainability

A company made a fossil-free fuel out of ‘electrified CO2.’

Oct 23, 2021

Increasing Sustainable Logging Practices With The Help Of AI

Posted by in categories: climatology, habitats, robotics/AI, sustainability

In recent years, the continued exploitation of natural resources and depletion of our forests has been a major issue, to say the least. The fight for sustainability has become increasingly important as we face the challenge of climate change and its effects on our planet. One possible solution to this problem is to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help increase sustainable logging practices.

Beyond data science, AI can be used in conjunction with autonomous robots that are specially designed for forestry work which may provide an answer for this global problem. AI can be applied specifically to logging operations such as planning where trees should be cut down and predicting the best time of day for cutting trees so they do not disrupt nesting birds or other animal habitats.

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Oct 22, 2021

Elon Musk Has Disrupted the Auto and Space Industries. 1 More Thing He Can Add to His Resume

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel, sustainability

Elon Musk has built two industrial behemoths— Tesla and SpaceX—revolutionizing two industries along the way. But that’s not all he has done to change global industry.

Musk has also given manufacturing companies a new word: gigafactory.

The practical definition of a gigafactory is a larger, modern manufacturing facility for products that are designed to lower global carbon emissions.

Oct 21, 2021

Solar desalination device will provide clean water to 400,000 Kenyans

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

A breakthrough in energy-efficient water infrastructure!

Oct 21, 2021

Hydroponics made Fujitsu

Posted by in categories: business, computing, finance, food, sustainability

Fijitsu retrofitted one of it’s clean rooms in a vertical farm. The project was so successful, they discovered they could enter a new market segment and sell the systems themselves. I definately want one.

Like the giant monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2,001 this new head of lettuce is simultaneously a product of this factory’s past and the future. Fujitsu is a space-age R&D innovator with sprawling, specialized factories. But several of its facilities, including this one, went dark when the company tightened its belt and reorganized its product lines after the 2008 global financial crisis. Now in the aftermath, it has retrofitted this facilities to serve tomorrow’s vegetable consumers, who will pay for a better-than-organic product, and who enjoy a bowl of iceberg more if they know it was monitored by thousands of little sensors.


Like the giant monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this new head of lettuce is simultaneously a product of this factory’s past and the future. Fujitsu is a space-age R&D innovator with sprawling, specialized factories. But several of its facilities, including this one, went dark when the company tightened its belt and reorganized its product lines after the 2008 global financial crisis. Now in the aftermath, it has retrofitted this facilities to serve tomorrow’s vegetable consumers, who will pay for a better-than-organic product, and who enjoy a bowl of iceberg more if they know it was monitored by thousands of little sensors.

Continue reading “Hydroponics made Fujitsu” »

Oct 21, 2021

Study: Recycled Lithium Batteries as Good as Newly Mined

Posted by in categories: materials, sustainability

Cathodes made with novel direct-recycling beat commercial materials.

Oct 20, 2021

A Drone Company Will Airlift Stranded Dogs. Over a Stream of Lava?

Posted by in categories: drones, habitats, sustainability

In an interview with Reuters, Jaime Pereira, CEO of Aerocamaras, said “it’s the first time an animal is being rescued with a drone and the first time it has to be captured. If that’s the last option that the dogs have? Then we’re going after them.” Pereira also mentioned a possible nightmare scenario caused by the limitations of drone battery technology, and the tricky nature of the operation, which relies partly on the cooperation of the stranded canines: “What we don’t want is to run out of battery when flying over the lava,” he said. In order to carry out the mission as safely as possible, the drone operator is currently carrying out test flights to practice before sending its drones to the location near the live volcano.

Though this is likely the first time a dog has been carried to safety by a drone, operators in China guided a herd of wayward elephants home with the aid of drones. In that case, however, the drones were only used to keep track of the animals. The technology is also being trialed for first responder operations in the case of natural disasters and emergencies. Here’s hoping the novel method for extracting the otherwise inaccessible animals to safety goes off without a hitch.

Oct 20, 2021

Morgan Stanley: SpaceX could make Elon Musk world’s first trillionaire

Posted by in categories: business, Elon Musk, space travel, sustainability

Investing bank Morgan Stanley believes that Elon Musk will become the world’s first modern trillionaire. Due to a wild bull market in Tesla shares over the last two years, the eccentric billionaire’s net worth has skyrocketed to unprecedented heights. Since the beginning of the year 2,020 the price of Tesla stock has risen by more than tenfold.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, the CEO of Tesla will become a trillionaire as a result of the success of his second business, SpaceX.

The private space-exploration company set up by Musk “is challenging any preconceived notion of what was possible and the time frame possible, in terms of rockets, launch vehicles and supporting infrastructure,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas in a note titled, ‘SpaceX Escape Velocity … Who Can Catch Them?’

Oct 20, 2021

Electric vehicle battery startup ONE backed by BMW, Gates-led firm

Posted by in categories: climatology, quantum physics, sustainability

Oct 18 (Reuters) — Michigan-based Our Next Energy, which is developing an advanced battery for electric vehicles, has raised $25 million from investors ranging from German automaker BMW (BMWG.DE) to a clean technology venture firm headed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the young company said on Monday.

Investors in ONE’s Series A round include BMW iVentures, Detroit-based Assembly Ventures and Chicago-based Volta Energy Technologies, which is partnered with Argonne National Laboratories. Another investor is Singapore-based electronics manufacturer Flex Ltd (FLEX.O), which is also a strategic partner with ONE.

The round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the investment arm of Breakthrough Energy, founded by Gates in 2015 to support and fund innovations to counter climate change. Among the Kirkland, Washington company’s investments: Battery recycler Redwood Materials, electric aircraft maker ZeroAvia and solid-state battery developer QuantumScape (QS.N).